One Bite at a Time

Friday, August 4, 2017

July's Best Reads

Western research
took almost complete control of my July reading and I regret very little of it.
In fact, I regret reading none of what’s mentioned here.

Deadwood, Pete Dexter. Bears no great resemblance to
the classic TV show but just as entertaining. Snippets of life in the camp seen
primarily through the eyes of Charlie Utter, using his actual life as a
backdrop. Dexter weaves fact and fiction seamlessly and effortlessly in a true
classic.

Famous
Gunfighters of the Western Frontier, W. B. “Bat” Masterson. Bat doesn’t have too much bad to say about
anyone except Doc Holliday, but a delightful book nonetheless. Written as a
series of essays for Human Life
magazine in 1907, it’s full of anachronistic language that sets the time
perfectly. Bat was a product of his time and some of his attitudes about
violence might strike some as cavalier today, but his understanding of, and
affection for, his subjects shows through. A quick read great fun.

Age
of the Gunfighter: Men and Weapons of the Frontier 1840 – 1900, Joseph Rosa. Almost a coffee table book
with many two-page spreads of authentic period weapons. Rosa’s a Brit with an
affection for the American West and has a full trunk of stories from both sides
of the law. Time is taken to explore the situations that grew from all the
major reasons for violence in the west: feuds, vigilante justice, range wars,
cow towns, and law and order. Filled with period photos of people and places.
Something a true Western aficionado will not want to be without.

Lots of ways to pre-order Res Mall

Worst Enemies, Book 1 of the Penns River series

Click the cover to buy

Grind Joint, Book 2 of the Penns River series

Click the cover to buy

Forte 4: A Dangerous Lesson Available Now! Click the image below to purchase.

Chicago Private Investigator Nick Forte’s official task is to find out what he can about Jennifer Vandenbusch’s new suitor, who fails to measure up in the eyes of the family matriarch, Jennifer’s grandmother. This seems par for the course for Forte, as his personal life has been leading him through a series of men who treat women badly, though none nearly as badly as the Thursday Night Slasher. Forte lives on the fringes of the investigation run by his old friend Sonny Ng until elements of Forte’s case and life dovetail with the Slasher investigation, leading to Forte discovering more about the crimes—and himself—than he wanted to know.

The Man in the Window

"...we see him getting rougher, tougher and darker book by book. There are multiple twists in the end, two cool sidekicks, good action scenes and some pretty nifty Chanderlisms in this book, adding up to a perfect PI read"--Sons of Spade blog

The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (Nick Forte 2)

It's a kind of authorial magic that The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of works as a tribute and as a story, and that neither aspect interferes in the least with the other… I can imagine this book finding its way into a class on writing crime fiction as an example of how to pay tribute to one's predecessors while at the same time writing a story that can stand on its own. It's an impressive accomplishment.--- Peter Rozovsky, Detectives Beyond Borders, December 18, 2014

About Me

Two of my Nick Forte Private investigator novels (A SMALL SACRIFICE and THE MAN IN THE WINDOW) received nominations for Shamus Awards. I also write a series of police procedurals set in the economically depressed town of Penns River PA, published by Down & Out Books. A non-fiction essay, “Chandler’s Heroes,” appeared in Spinetingler Magazine online in October of 2013.
I live in Laurel MD with The Beloved Spouse.